International Migration Drives Long-Run Economic Development Back Home

“Brain drain,” the idea that when workers leave for opportunities abroad their home communities lose out, is a common concern in conversations about international migration, but new U-M research suggests the opposite: international migration can be a powerful engine of long-run economic development in migrants’ places of origin. In this Institute for Social Research study spotlight, U-M economist Dean Yang explains how migration opportunities can drive investment in education, leading to better jobs at home and abroad and more resources flowing back to local communities.